This is the story of my life—and yours too, I hope. We are constantly evolving, if we allow ourselves to. Many don’t. In my lifetime, I suspect civilization has evolved more than in any other era of history. Most folks don’t think they are evolving, it just happens—but we have come a long way from … Read more
Many years ago, when my family lived on the island of Oahu in Hawai’i, my wife, Annie, wrote and received a grant to start a volunteer group at the Hawai’i School for the Deaf and the Blind (HSDB). Our middle daughter, who is deaf and legally blind, went to school there. Annie had German measles … Read more
I have a friend in the Bay Area who emails me cartoons that are political as well as funny. Last week, he sent me a cartoon showing a machine gun going “blam blam blam” under the caption “Semiautomatic.” Then, under the caption “Fully Automatic,” a man labeled “Congress” continuously says “Thoughtsandprayersthoughtsandprayersthoughtsandprayersthoughtsandprayers.” I thought this cartoon … Read more
In May 2018, my wife, Annie, and I drove 6,750 miles from Irvine to Arkansas to the East Coast to New Hampshire to Chicago and then back home to California. I was on tour talking about my newest book, Cramming for the Finals, and the power of Progressive Christianity. Along the way, we visited family … Read more
According to many Jewish folks, especially the Orthodox Jews, I am anti-Semitic. Interesting! When I was young, I was anti-Semitic. I called Jewish people bad names and said unkind things about them. I didn’t personally know many Jews. I had a Jewish friend in prep school, but I never called him a bad name. (Strange … Read more
Laura Ingraham is supposed to be a mature woman with a primetime TV show. Why did she verbally attack a seventeen-year-old Parkland High School survivor for not getting accepted at four of California’s top universities? She paid a price for her bad behavior, but why did she do it in the first place? The world’s … Read more
I wrote this blog post at the airport in Havana, Cuba, while Annie and I waited for our flight home. We were in Cuba for only three days, so I realize that my viewpoint is rather limited. From the moment Annie and I stepped off the plane until we stepped back on, we felt like … Read more
The February 26, 2018, issue of Time magazine featured several articles on the theme of how to live longer better. One article entitled “You Asked: Do Religious People Live Longer?” insinuated that going to church might increase longevity. My last book, Cramming for the Finals, was dedicated to a Roman Catholic priest, Father Tom Schutter, … Read more
In my office, I have a pile labeled Interesting where I put extracts from magazines, books, and newspapers that I’m not sure what to do with yet. Occasionally, I sort the pile into different files—or the circular file. I was sorting through this pile the other day, and I found an old, yellowed piece of … Read more
I don’t want to die now—maybe later. Right now, I’m having too much fun. In this blog post, I want to talk about the words I want used when my heart and brain stop working. I want people to say, “Bil died!” Please don’t say, “Bil passed.” I don’t like that word being used to … Read more